The regional office of the Department of Tourism (DOT 11) kicked off the 21st edition of the “Kaon Ta, Kain Pa!” Food and Travel Festival on December 2-4 at the Abreeza Ayala Mall in Davao City on Friday.
Carrying the theme “Food Tripping Christmas,” the event is staged in partnership with the Ayala Malls, which features a flavorful spread of local and modern holiday cuisines and local beverages from Regions 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 as well as from the Cordillera Administrative Region and the National Capital Region.
The three-day event aims to position the Philippines as a premiere culinary destination in Asia and globally. It will incorporate food, travel and Christmas.
“We all love to eat and food is always top of mind whenever we visit places, more so during Christmas when we celebrate the holidays with family and loved ones during noche buena. This event is indeed a welcome treat for all of us Dabawenyos who will get to travel the country thru our taste buds and will surely leave us craving for more,” said Janice Parreno, Ayala Malls area head for operations-Mindanao in her message during the opening on Friday at the activity center of Abreeza Mall.
She said through the activity, Ayala Malls is reaffirming its unwavering support for the DOT in promoting the Philippines’ rich heritage through tourism.
Meanwhile, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said in her message read by DOT Regional Director Tanya Rabat-Tan that for many years these food and travel festivals have also generated significant local spending for identified tourist destinations. She said of the overall 20 on-ground and hybrid (on-ground and online) editions of Kaon Ta, Kain Pa! Food and Travel Festival, the on-ground component of the most recent editions held at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay and Ayala Center Cebu in June 2022 and November 2022, respectively generated a combined revenue of over P1.5 million.
“In addition to revenue generation, the Kain Na! Food and Travel Festival also proved to be an important avenue in promoting new food tourism circuits developed by DOT regional offices, while featuring some of the country’s esteemed culinary champions and heritage gastronomy advocates to talk about the love of country and the beauty it proudly represents through our food and food culture,” Frasco’s message said.
